BUFFALO, N.Y. — Mourners are gathering in Buffalo to remember a Washington, D.C., train operator credited with saving lives in last week’s rail crash that killed her and eight passengers.

Jeanice McMillan’s funeral is being held Wednesday in her hometown. The 42-year-old, a devoted mother to her college-age son, moved to the Washington area more than a decade ago and became a Metro transit train operator in March.

Federal investigators have said there’s evidence McMillan applied an emergency brake before the train rear-ended another one stopped at a station on June 22.

The transit agency’s general manager has said McMillan was a hero and predicted investigators will ultimately find her actions saved lives. The accident was the deadliest in the system’s 33-year history.